French conservatives reject mayor who wants to ban Islam

PARIS (AP) — France's main opposition conservative party, the UMP, is seeking to punish a mayor in its ranks who called for banning Islam, the country's No. 2 religion.

Robert Chardon, mayor of the southern town of Venelles, tweeted an appeal to ban Islam on Thursday night. Later he was quoted by Le Monde as proposing a plan for Muslims to practice their religion "in their country of origin."

France has an estimated 5 million Muslims, most of whom are moderate and fear being associated with terrorism after deadly attacks by Islamic radicals in January.